Chris Kyle: Ex-US Navy Seal Sniper Shot Dead

A 25-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with a shooting at a Texas gun range that killed former Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle and his friend.

Sergeant Lonny Haschel, of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said in a news release that Eddie Ray Routh of Lancaster, Texas, was arraigned on two counts of capital murder.

Sgt Haschel said Erath County Sheriff's deputies found the bodies of Mr Kyle, 38, and Chad Littlefield, 35, on Saturday at the Rough Creek Lodge shooting range, about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Fort Worth.

Police said Routh opened fire on Mr Kyle and Mr Littlefield, and then fled in a pickup truck. He was later arrested near his home in Lancaster after a brief pursuit.

Officer Kyle Roberts at the Erath County Jail said Routh is being held on a combined \$3m bond.

The motive for the shooting remains unclear.

Mr Kyle, a decorated soldier, wrote the best-selling book, American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US Military History, detailing his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009.

According to promotional information from book publisher William Morrow, Mr Kyle was deployed to Iraq four times.

Travis Cox, the organisation's director, told the AP news agency that Mr Kyle and Mr Littlefield had taken Routh - who he described as a veteran "struggling" with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - to the gun range.

He said: "What I know is Chris and a gentleman - great guy, I knew him well, Chad Littlefield - took a veteran out shooting who was struggling with PTSD to try to assist him, try to help him, try to give him a helping hand and he turned the gun on both of them, killing them."

Routh then took Mr Kyle's truck and fled, Mr Cox added.

Mr Kyle is survived by his wife, Taya, and their children, the non-profit's release said.

He was sued by former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura - a former professional wrestler and Navy Seal - over a portion of the book that claims Mr Kyle punched Mr Ventura in a 2006 bar fight over unpatriotic remarks.

Mr Ventura says the punch never happened and that the claim by Mr Kyle defamed him.